A Birmingham mother who must make £30 last two weeks said she skips meals to put food on the table for her son. Izzy O'Brien, aged 23 and from Nechells, struggled to make ends meet after a relationship breakdown when her son Finn was just seven months old.
She worked part-time but turned to a food pantry and moved back in with her parents to keep her head above water. Izzy admitted she sometimes missed meals herself to ensure her son could eat a decent meal. She told the Mirror: 'This week is going to be a little bit tough, and next week. Two weeks until pay day, and I've got £30 in the account.' She said she had made personal sacrifices and 'sometimes I'd get food for my son and I wouldn't eat.' But she added: 'I never ever let my son feel it. He never knows. He'll never go without.'
Rising demand for food support
Izzy spoke as new research suggested food support services were battling to meet surging demand from families during the cost-of-living crisis. A survey covering more than 2,700 charities by food rescue group Felix found 32 per cent would need to shut down their food service without rescued food, and 52 per cent would be forced to reduce the support they provided.
Izzy said: 'It started with the cost of living going up and then when I had my son and his dad left around seven months.' She was working one shift weekly because she wanted to maximise the time she had with her son, but life as a lone parent meant her income was not enough.
Struggling as a lone parent
'I was really struggling when he first left,' she said. 'I had to get on Universal Credit but that was going to take a few weeks to come through, so I had to get an advance payment. The first few months I was just trying to pay that off, and I really relied on the pantry.' Izzy had not initially realised help was available to those in jobs. She said: 'I didn't think I could use it because I was a worker. I thought, oh, workers can't use that.'
The help arrived via Nechells POD, a community pantry stocked by Felix, which saves excess food from companies and gives it to charities and community groups throughout the UK. Research from Felix revealed demand had continued to climb, with 41 per cent of organisations obtaining food through the charity – a rise on the previous year – and another 13 per cent saying demand had more than doubled.
Support for the whole household
The assistance helped not just Izzy and Finn, but her entire household after she moved back in with her parents. 'I am fortunate I have my mom and dad,' she said. 'But even they're struggling with the cost-of-living and they both work, so it helped the whole household being able to go to the pantry, pay £5 and get £20-worth of shopping.'
Izzy said she was nervous about using the pantry but soon discovered she wasn't alone. Unlike traditional food banks that hand out pre-packaged emergency parcels, pantries typically have shelves where users can browse and pick the items they need. Izzy said: 'Before I got there, I was nervous. But when I got there I saw most of the community was there – everyone I knew was there, and I'm thinking we're all in it together, we're all struggling right now.'
Charities at risk without surplus food
Felix warned charities might be forced to scale back services without access to redistributed surplus food, with more than eight in ten organisations indicating their provision would be jeopardised without it. The pantry membership has now risen from £3 to £5, though Izzy said it still offered crucial help when finances were tight.
She now works around 16 hours weekly on minimum wage while claiming Universal Credit, but said each month was a juggling exercise. 'I think I would have fallen into depression if I didn't have the support and have the pantry to fall back on,' she said. 'Back then I thought I was alone, I thought I was the only person struggling, when actually there are loads of people struggling. I thought I was failing, working and still struggling, but a lot of people around the UK are struggling right now, even people in work.'
Volunteering and balancing work with family
Izzy also volunteers at a youth club, helping youngsters with rock climbing sessions while bringing up Finn. She said: 'You have to decide, do I want more money that I have to work completely for, and that means time away from my son, or meet in the middle where I work the 16 hours and I still have time for him? I'd rather go without than let him go without.'
